Questions Unknown
by Zandra Diphase
Summary: 16 year old Daegan has started to question if her life is real. She's lived with The Brotherhood for her "whole life", but something slips and now she wants answers.
1. Default Chapter

Prologue (ten years ago)  
  
"Daddy!" a little girl exclaimed happily as she ran over to her father, her dark blue eyes shining.  
  
"Hey," Remy replied as he picked up his daughter and hugged her. "How's my girl?"  
  
"Good," she said, smiling.  
  
Remy smiled back at her as he closed the apartment door behind him. "Were you a good girl while Kitty was over?" She nodded innocently. "Well that's not what I heard from Kitty, Taryn."  
  
Taryn's smile faded and she tried to push away from her dad's arms so she could jump down and run, but his arm was firmly locked under her knees. "How come you were being trouble for Kitty?" he asked her.  
  
"Kitty's no fun," Taryn whined. "Bobby and John are funner."  
  
"Funner, huh?" Remy repeated, tickling Taryn's ribs. She squirmed and giggled, trying to pull away. He suddenly stopped tickling his daughter when there was a knock on the apartment door. He placed Taryn on the ground and walked to the door. "Who is it?" he asked.  
  
"Open up Gambit!" a male voice shouted angrily.  
  
Remy's eyes went wide and he ran over to Taryn, picking her up as the door was broken down. Magneto walked into the apartment, Mystique and Sabertooth following behind him. "What do you want," Remy demanded, backing away from them.  
  
"I want the girl," Magneto answered.  
  
Taryn looked up at her dad. "I'm not going to let you take her!" he shouted, keeping his daughter close as he turned around and headed for the window. The window suddenly broke and Toad jumped into the apartment, trapping them.  
  
Magnet moved his hand and the pipe underneath the kitchen sink popped out, making water spray everywhere. They pipe moved swiftly and wrapped around Remy's chest. He dropped Taryn helplessly and she sat on the ground, looking up at her dad. "Daddy!" she yelled as she stood up and hugged his leg.  
  
Mystique walked over to them and picked Taryn up. "DADDY!" she screamed as she tried to reach for her dad. She punched and kicked the air, trying to squirm free from Mystique.  
  
Remy took a step forward, when Toad jumped in front of him and kicked him into a chair. "Leave my daughter alone!" he yelled at Magneto. "You'll never get away with this."  
  
Sabertooth handed Mystique a small needle and she injected a vile into Taryn's arm, relaxing Taryn instantly. "Let's go before 'they' show up," Sabertooth muttered to Magneto.  
  
He nodded and they all walked out of the apartment without saying anything else.  
  
- - -  
  
"What are we going to do with her?" Toad asked, looking over at Taryn. "The X-men are going to find our hide out and take her back. Then what are we going to do?"  
  
"She's going to want to run away if she remembers her father when she's old enough," Mystique added.  
  
"We'll wipe her memory clean of everything that she remembers," Magneto answered. "Just like we've done with the other children. She won't remember Gambit or any of the X-men."  
  
"If we wipe away that much memory she won't remember her name," Sabertooth muttered.  
  
"Then the X-men will still find her because of her name," Toad concurred.  
  
"Wipe her whole memory. We'll give her a new name and no one will know who she is," Magneto replied as he walked towards his office. "Now hurry before she wakes up."  
  
"What should we name her?" Mystique asked before Magneto could leave.  
  
Magneto stopped. "Name her whatever you want," he muttered as he walked into his office and shut the door behind him.  
  
The three looked over at Taryn. "Name her Daegan," Mystique suggested as she picked up Taryn and placed her in the chair.  
  
Toad grunted. "What kind of name is Daegan?"  
  
Mystique glared at Toad, then went back to strapping Taryn to the chair so she couldn't get free. "Her name's now Daegan," she stated.  
  
- - -  
  
Cyclops quickly broke down the door to the apartment and walked in, Jean and Storm following behind. "This place is a mess!" Jean stated, looking at the water-drenched kitchen floor.  
  
Storm quickly walked over to Remy and pulled the pipe off of him. "They took her," he muttered gloomily, looking at his three friends. "I should have kept Taryn safe. If I wasn't so stupid and wanted to live on my own with her, Taryn would be safe, playing with the kids in the mansion."  
  
Cyclops placed his hand on his shoulder. "It's okay," he said. "We'll find her."  
  
Chapter One (Present time)  
  
Daegan sat in the corner of her room, deep in thought. She had lived her whole life with the Brotherhood, along with some other kids, but she never knew why they kept them all imprisoned from the outside world. She dropped back to reality when she heard a knock on the door. "Just a second!" she called as she stood up quickly, fixing her shoulder-length brown hair into a loose ponytail. She sat on her bed cross-legged and picked up her book. "Come in!"  
  
The door opened and John walked in. "Hey, everything okay?" he asked as he closed the door behind him.  
  
Daegan looked up from her book, her dark blue eyes blank of any emotion. "Why wouldn't everything be okay?" she muttered sarcastically as she looked back down at her book. "I haven't seen daylight my whole life and everything I touch seems to blow up."  
  
John laughed slightly. "You'll gain control of your power eventually."  
  
She shook her head slowly, smirking. "I have control of my kinetic energy. It doesn't mean that I can't still have fun nuking objects."  
  
He smiled and sat down on Daegan's bed next to her. "How come you're staying in your room so much lately?" he asked.  
  
She shrugged, not looking up from her book. "I just haven't really wanted to be around anyone lately," she lied.  
  
"C'mon, you can tell me."  
  
"Something just seems strange about this place," Daegan said quietly, looking up from her book. "I don't understand how every kid here only seems to remember being here their whole lives."  
  
"What do you mean?" he asked. "I don't think Erik and Mystique could've -"  
  
"Ew!" she stated as John smiled. "I am not the offspring of Magneto and Mystique! That's just gross!"  
  
"So are you saying that you think maybe Magneto took you all from your families and wiped your memories of them?"  
  
Daegan's eyes widened. "Is that really what's going on?"  
  
John looked at her, his eyes showing that he shouldn't have said that. "C'mon! Tell me, please?" Daegan pleaded.  
  
"I've said too much," he muttered, standing up quickly. "Nothing happened like that."  
  
"I can tell you're lying!" she yelled as John shut the door behind him. "I gotta get out of here and figure things out," she muttered to herself as she got up from her bed. She walked over to her closet and opened it. She grabbed her black hooded sweatshirt that had the name "Surge" imprinted in bold red letters on the back and pulled it over her head.  
  
She was too busy searching her room for the money she had saved up to notice that a tall, black haired guy had come into her room. "Daegan, what's the rush?"  
  
Daegan nearly fell backwards from being startled. "I'm getting out of here, Chris," she muttered blankly, finding the money.  
  
"Good idea, let's go get ourselves killed," Chris replied as he stepped in front of her to block her way. "Have you even stopped to think about this?"  
  
"Haven't you noticed that I've been in my room a lot?" she said impatiently. "Trust me. Freedom will be worth the pain of getting out of here."  
  
"Hold it," he stated as he placed his hands on her shoulders. "You wouldn't last one day out there alone. Sabertooth would find you a couple hours from now anyway."  
  
"I know what you're suggesting and no," Daegan replied, pulling away from Chris. "You're not coming with me."  
  
"I don't care I'm coming with you no matter what."  
  
Daegan looked up into Chris's hazel eyes and she sighed. "Fine!" she said, walking over to the back wall. "Are you ready to leave?"  
  
"Why are we running away?" he asked, stalling for time.  
  
"Because I want answers and I don't seem to be getting them by being cooped up in here," she replied as she began to rub her hands together.  
  
"I'll be back in two seconds," Chris said, running out of her room before she could say anything.  
  
He returned a minute later with his own black sweatshirt on, "Eruption" written in bold orange letters on the back of it. By then Daegan had a strong magenta colour glowing in her hands. "Stand back," she muttered as she placed her hands on the empty, colourless wall.  
  
She waited until an area large enough for the both of them to walk through was glowing the magenta colour from her hands and she let go. She jumped behind her bed, Chris ducking beside it as well as the wall exploded.  
  
"That was probably noticeable," Chris stated as he stood up, looking at the large hole in the wall that led into the large vast night.  
  
Daegan stood up and walked to the opening. "Piece of cake," she said, smiling.  
  
They were about to leave, when the door burst open and John, Mystique, and Sabertooth ran into the room. "What's going on?!" John yelled.  
  
The two teens looked at each other. Without saying anything, Chris crouched down and placed his hands on the floor. Within seconds, the floor was bubbling with hot molten lava. "Let's go!" he shouted as he grabbed Daegan's hand and they ran into the night.  
  
- - -  
  
"How could you let them get away!" Magneto boomed as he paced back and forth in front of the three. "They were right there and you just let them run?"  
  
"Chris used his ability against us," John explained. "I wasn't planning on burning myself on that lava!"  
  
"Those two were our key mutants!" he yelled. "They could have brought fear into all humans. They could have been under my power and I would have been on top!"  
  
"Erik, settle down," Mystique said. "Sabertooth can catch them."  
  
"No, I'll let them have their fun for a while," Magneto stated darkly, sitting in his office chair. "John, go find them."  
  
"Me, but -"  
  
"You're the one who started this mess so you're going to clean it up!" Magneto roared. "And don't come back until you have them." 


	2. Chapter Two

Chapter Two  
  
Daegan and Chris walked through the empty streets, feeling slightly lost. "Maybe we should have thought this up a little more before actually running away," Chris said quietly, looking up and down the streets.  
  
"We'll find a motel or something and sleep for a while," Daegan suggested. "Then we can walk around in broad daylight."  
  
"How are we going to find a motel this late at night? I can't see anything."  
  
"I told you not to come with me."  
  
"This should help." Chris concentrated his lava-ability and made his hands glow a red-orange colour. "Ouch!" he yelled sharply as the light disappeared.  
  
"Lava burns if you didn't know that," Daegan teased. She looked around the block to realize they were standing in a park. "Well, its not such a bad night tonight, we could always just lie on the grass here."  
  
"I'd prefer a bed thank you," Chris complained. Daegan glared at him. "What? You do too."  
  
"Well I don't see any hotels around here, do you?"  
  
"Who goes there," a male voice stated out of no where.  
  
A flashlight suddenly fell upon the two and they shielded their eyes with their arms. "We're kinda lost," Daegan stated. "Could you tell us where we could find a motel or somewhere to stay?"  
  
"Didn't Magneto ever teach you not to talk to strangers?!" Chris whispered sharply to Daegan.  
  
"You kids not around from these parts?" the man said as he lowered his flashlight and approached them.  
  
"What exactly are 'these parts'?" Chris asked.  
  
"New York City of course," he replied. "If you guys need a place to stay I wouldn't mind if you guys stayed over where I live."  
  
Someone suddenly grabbed Daegan by the hood of her sweatshirt from behind. "It's OK. They're with me," a male voice stated darkly behind them.  
  
The man pulled Daegan and Chris further into the park and they stopped suddenly. "You kids shouldn't be around these parts," the guy uttered. Daegan noted the strong Brooklyn accent he had.  
  
"We can handle ourselves," Chris stated confidently.  
  
"Think you're a tough guy, huh?" the man taunted. "Trying to show off to your girlfriend here?"  
  
Daegan felt offended, knowing the guy thought she was helpless without Chris, and she tried a left hook to hit him in the jaw. The guy caught her by the wrist and whirled her around so that he had twisted her arm back. "Let her go," Chris demanded angrily.  
  
"Make me," the man stated.  
  
Daegan stared at Chris as he just stood there. He wouldn't do anything that could hurt her as well. She sighed impatiently and stomped on the man's foot. The man howled in pain, automatically letting go of her. She felt kinetic energy burning inside her so she placed her hand on the ground. The grass turned a strong magenta colour and it circled around the man. She let go and her and Chris ran for it. "Get back here!" the man yelled as the ground exploded beneath him.  
  
"What was that about?!" Chris asked frantically when they stopped running, two blocks away from the park.  
  
"I'm sorry," Daegan apologized. "I had too much energy inside me. I hadta get rid of it."  
  
"Well, we'll be on the morning news tomorrow," Chris muttered.  
  
Daegan looked around the street to find a twenty-four hour café across the street. "Let's go get something to eat," she suggested, shoving her hand into her pocket to get the money out. She didn't find anything. "CRAP!" she yelled.  
  
"Something wrong?" Chris asked.  
  
"The guy took my money!"  
  
Chris sighed and leaned against a fence. "So you're telling me, that we are in New York City with no money!?"  
  
"That is correct," Daegan muttered, sitting on the curb. "So much for this plan. Sorry I dragged you into this Chris."  
  
"You didn't drag me into anything," he replied, sitting next to her. "So what? You're plan back-fired. We can still find a way to get food."  
  
"And what do you suggest?"  
  
Chris thought for a minute. "We might have to take up stealing."  
  
Daegan looked at Chris questioningly. "You're thinking that the only way for us to survive is to steal?" Chris nodded. "You're right." she muttered, deep in thought. "And I think I know how we can without getting caught."  
  
- - -  
  
Logan turned up the volume on the morning news as he watched it with Bobby and Rogue. "Police officials are stumped with last night's bombing in Central Park," the newscaster reported. "There are no remains or any explosive use."  
  
"Looks like we got ourselves another nuclear mutant," Logan stated. "Hey! Gambit!"  
  
Gambit walked into the room. "What?" he said.  
  
"Looks like there's another mutant like you," Logan said. "Thought you'd be interested in hearing."  
  
Gambit sat down in a chair and listened as a police officer spoke on the news. "They looked about their mid-teens and I offered to take them to a motel because they had no place to go. I didn't see any explosives on them so I didn't think they were harmful."  
  
"If you see these teens around the street, please call the police department," the newscaster said. "They are a boy and girl, mid-teens, and could be considered highly dangerous."  
  
"Time to go find them before something bad happens," Bobby said as he stood up.  
  
- - -  
  
Chris held Daegan's hand as they walked around the now crowded streets. Daegan held her stomach as she heard it grumble hungrily and she looked up at Chris. "Just a couple more minutes," he said reassuringly as they turned into an alley next to a convenience store.  
  
"How are we going to do this?" she asked.  
  
"You go through the front of the store. Look around for a couple of minutes at the magazines or food and make your way to the back of the store," Chris explained. "In the back there's usually no one there so that's where you'll go nuclear."  
  
Daegan's dark blue eyes showed doubt. "Don't worry. Just make the explosion large enough to get everybody running out of the store," he added. "I'll do the rest."  
  
"What are the chances of getting caught?" she asked, trying to stall for time.  
  
"Slim to none," Chris said reassuringly. "If we are seen they'll only know us by our nicknames."  
  
"Finally I'll be known," she muttered, smirking.  
  
"Good luck," Chris said as Daegan walked out of the alley.  
  
Daegan stopped for a second before walking into the store, making sure that she wasn't being watched. She walked in casually and headed over to the magazine rack, pretending to look at the magazines. She looked over to the cashier to see that he was busy with customers. She made her way to the back of the store as she slowly rubbed her hands together. She crouched down, making it look like she was looking at something on the bottom shelf and she placed her hands on the ground. She waited until there was a circle of magenta reaching the corner of the store, then she let go. She walked out of the store, trying to keep herself from running out of it.  
  
Daegan smirked as she walked onto the crowded sidewalk, thinking she was home free, when she bumped into someone. "Well, well. If it isn't Surge," John stated angrily as he grabbed Daegan's arm.  
  
"Let me go!" she screamed, hoping to grab someone's attention.  
  
Suddenly there was a loud explosion from inside the convenience store and people ran out of the store frantically. "You are going to be in so much trouble when I get you back to Magneto," John muttered as he tightened his grip on her shoulder. "Where's Chris?"  
  
"Right here," Chris said as he placed his hand over top of John's hand.  
  
John let go of Daegan as his hand was burned from the lava coming from Chris. "C'mon!" Chris grabbed Daegan's wrist and they ran into the alley.  
  
"Did you get anything?" she asked as Chris pulled her around the corner.  
  
"Grab a bag," he replied as he stopped in front of five grocery bags filled with food.  
  
Daegan grabbed two bags and they ran through the alleys. "In here," she suggested as she stopped at a door and opened it. They walked in and looked around. "We could live here," she said, smiling.  
  
Chris turned on the light and looked around. In the small room were two old couches, a TV, and a couple cupboards. "Nice choice," he said placing the grocery bags on the ground. "How'd you know about it?"  
  
Daegan didn't answer; knowing that Chris wouldn't believe her if a voice in her head told her that this place was safe. She quickly turned on the TV and the news came on. "Moments ago, there was yet another bombing in New York City," the news reporter stated. "This time it was in a small local convenience store."  
  
"Wow these people are fast," Daegan muttered under her breath.  
  
The camera angle switched to the scene of the bombing and John was there, the microphone in front of him. "The kids are mutants," he stated. Chris's eyes widened. "I caught the girl as she came out of the store. She goes by the name Surge. Her partner came out of no where and burned my hand. His name's Eruption. Those kids are going to be lucky if the police catch them before I do."  
  
"This can't be good," Chris muttered as he stared at the TV.  
  
"If you see these two teenagers with the names 'Surge' or 'Eruption' written on their shirts, call the police. These two are highly dangerous," the police chief stated.  
  
Daegan turned off the TV and looked over at Chris worriedly. "What are we going to do now?" she asked. "Now we can't show our faces in public."  
  
"John told them our nicknames, not physical appearance," Chris replied, smirking. "We just can't wear our sweatshirts outside of this place."  
  
Daegan thought for a minute and smiled. "Or we go out at night. Nobody's ever around that much in the area we're in."  
  
Chris nodded. "Now rest up," he advised as he swung his legs onto the couch and rested his head on the arm of the couch. "We got lots to do before we think about stealing again."  
  
- - -  
  
"C'mon, Scott! We have to help those kids," Bobby pleaded as he followed Scott around the mansion.  
  
"then go help them!" Scott yelled impatiently. "Why did the X-men become helpful all of a sudden?!"  
  
"We've always been helping kids so they don't feel alone," Bobby stated.  
  
"Scott stopped walking and turned around to face Bobby. "We're helping new kids but we're not helping our own team?! That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!"  
  
"We're all sad that Jean's not around anymore. But it was her choice," Bobby said quietly. "No one could have done anything to help her."  
  
Scott looked away from Bobby as Charles Xavier wheeled into the room. "Professor, did you track down Surge and Eruption?" Bobby asked him worriedly.  
  
"They are both safe in the basement of an abandoned building," he replied. He looked to Scott. "Scott, Logan was hoping that you would go along with the group and try to get the two teens to come here for safety reasons."  
  
Scott looked at Xavier. "I'll think about it," he muttered as he walked to his room and shut the door behind him.  
  
"Why won't Gambit come along?" Bobby asked as he followed Xavier to the main floor.  
  
"It seems that he's a little down after he heard about Surge," Xavier replied. "Unfortunately he hasn't let go of the loss of his daughter ten years ago."  
  
"Do you think maybe Surge could be Gambit's daughter?" he asked, hope shining in his ice blue eyes.  
  
"I cannot say," Xavier replied. "First we're going to have to get Surge and Eruption over here. They're going to want some answers and we will as well."  
  
- - -  
  
Chris woke up from his nap to hear Daegan punching something. "Where'd you find that?" he asked her as he stared at the punching bag hanging from the ceiling.  
  
"I found it in the closet," she replied as she sat down on the empty couch. "I couldn't fall asleep and I needed to get rid of some energy."  
  
Chris looked at Daegan. She had taken off her sweatshirt and was wearing a tank top. He had never really seen her without her sweatshirt on, and he looked at her slender, yet strong, arms as she pulled her black sweatshirt over her arms and over her head. "Why don't you take a picture? It lasts longer," Daegan muttered, noticing Chris staring at her.  
  
Chris shook his head. "Sorry," he said as he looked around the room. "So do you have any ideas on what we should do now?" he asked, changing the subject.  
  
"We might as well wait until we run out of supplies before robbing another convenience store," Daegan replied. "Maybe wait until everything settles down before doing more damage."  
  
"Good idea."  
  
"We're mutants anyway . we should be in hiding . Not showing off our powers," she muttered, standing up and walking around the room blankly.  
  
There was a knock on the door and Daegan stopped walking. She looked at Chris, then over at the door. "Wh -" she started to ask, when Chris jumped up from the couch and cupped his hand over her mouth.  
  
The person knocked on the door again. "They'll go away when they realize no one's in here," Chris whispered in her ear.  
  
"Are you sure they're in here?" someone yelled on the other side of the door.  
  
Daegan closed her eyes as she heard someone's voice echo in her mind. Open the door . We won't hurt you, the voice said softly.  
  
Chris moved his hand from Daegan's mouth and he slowly made his way to the door. He was about to place his hand on the doorknob, when the door was blasted open. Chris stared at the guy at the door, not saying anything. "Sorry for barging in on you," the guy apologized, almost coldly.  
  
Chris looked over at Daegan. Her hands were glowing a strong magenta colour, but she didn't seem to notice. "Surge, relax," the stranger stated as he passed by Chris. "I'm not here to kill you."  
  
Daegan didn't move, nor did she say anything. More people started filing into the room, followed in the rear with a man in a wheel chair. Chris walked over to Daegan and placed his hands on her shoulders so she wouldn't be able to turn anything into a grenade. "Can we help you?" he asked quietly.  
  
"I'm Professor Charles Xavier," the man in the wheelchair introduced. "I work at a school for the gifted."  
  
Daegan looked down at the ground, trying to concentrate on some of the information suddenly pouring into her head. She glanced up quickly to see that the man in the wheelchair had closed his eyes and she looked away. "Stay out of my head." she muttered coldly to him.  
  
The memories stopped flying around and Xavier opened his eyes. "I already know who you guys are. You're the X-men," she said quietly, not looking up from the ground again.  
  
"I can tell that you are aware that we are the X-men," Charles said. "What I'm unaware of is how you know that I can read minds."  
  
Daegan didn't say anything else. "Why are you here?" Chris asked.  
  
"We thought you two might be in a bit of trouble so we're offering you protection," Charles replied, looking to Chris.  
  
"You can stay with us and you'd have a home and you wouldn't have to steal," a guy with dirty blond hair added.  
  
"So you watched the news," Chris said, looking over at the guy.  
  
"The news has very little information on you two so we came to see you ourselves," he replied.  
  
"Ow, Chris," Daegan muttered, pulling her right shoulder away from Chris's hand. He didn't realize that his powers were acting up as well.  
  
"Sorry," he said quietly. He looked back at the X-men. "We need to think about this," he said. "We can't just make a decision right away."  
  
"Take you're time," Charles replied as he turned around and acknowledged for the X-men to follow him. "We'll get in touch with you tomorrow."  
  
The X-men left without saying anything else. "Ouch!" Daegan said loudly after the door was closed.  
  
"I'm sorry for burning you Daegan, I honestly don't know what happened," Chris apologized.  
  
"No, it's not that," she said as she looked down at her hands. The glow was gone but there were two cuts on both palms of her hands. "My kinetic energy attacked my skin."  
  
"Oh man," Chris said as he looked at Daegan's hands. "Sit down on the couch. I'll get something to cool your hands down."  
  
- - -  
  
"What was wrong with those guys?" Scott asked Charles as they walked down the street. "Surge looked like she was going to blow the whole place up and Eruption burned her."  
  
"They have control over their powers," Charles replied, deep in thought. "But what I got from Surge's mind was that they had a poison injected into them so that when the brain sends nerves of fear or nervousness, their abilities will react with it."  
  
"Who would do such a thing to them?" Rogue asked.  
  
Charles didn't answer. "Magneto," Logan uttered under his breath. "But why would Magneto need a kid who can make anything a grenade and a kid who can melt anything he touches?"  
  
"Looks like we'll find out when the time comes," Bobby said. "But Professor, I thought you didn't go into mutants' minds unless they let you."  
  
"I needed to see something for someone," was all Charles said.  
  
"So you do think that Surge could be Gambit's daughter," Bobby said.  
  
"I have my doubts," he replied. 


	3. Chapter Three

Chapter Three  
  
John walked into the front of a building and found Toad waiting for him at the back. "What's the news?" he asked as he stopped in front of Toad.  
  
"Magneto thinks that it wasn't very smart that you told all of New York about Daegan and Chris," Toad started. "You have forty-eight hours to find out where they're hiding."  
  
"Or else what?" John pushed.  
  
"Magneto doesn't have time for you to screw up again," he replied as he jumped away.  
  
"Great," John muttered under his breath. "For all I know they're with the X-men -" He stopped short, his eyes widening as he thought of something. "Perfect."  
  
- - -  
  
Daegan flinched as she pulled her sweatshirt off so Chris could see the damage he had done on her shoulder. "It's not that bad," he said reassuringly as he touched her burnt shoulder gently. "It's only a second degree burn."  
  
"Only?!" Daegan repeated, pulling away from Chris.  
  
"Yes, only," he concurred. "People I have hurt have come out with third degree burns or death. Now hold still, this is going to hurt a bit."  
  
Daegan leaned against the back of the couch so her body couldn't pull away from the pain. Chris lightly placed the ice cold cloth on her shoulder. "Why did you burn me anyway?" she asked.  
  
"I was nervous," Chris admitted. "Our powers seem to act up when we're nervous."  
  
"The injections," Daegan muttered, thinking out loud. "Xavier was searching my mind and one thing he found was that we were given injections so that our abilities would react out of control with certain feelings."  
  
"That explains a lot," Chris said, thinking about the situation. "But how come you're still searching for answers?"  
  
Daegan moved some strands of her hair out of her face with her bandaged hand. "I want to find out what and why Magneto wants us," she said.  
  
"Who's going to be able to answer that?"  
  
"I don't know," she replied, feeling frustrated. "The X-men could -"  
  
"No," Chris stated firmly, making Daegan jump. "We can't get the X-men's help. It's as if we're saying 'Come get us Magneto, we're safe'."  
  
"But -"  
  
"Daegan, Magneto did something to us so that we become defensive when around the X-men. Did you hear yourself when you were talking to Xavier?"  
  
Daegan fell silent. "Well?" Chris asked, his voice showing his impatience.  
  
"He told us all that the X-men killed our parents," she muttered.  
  
"Exactly!"  
  
"Chris!"  
  
"What!"  
  
Daegan flinched at the annoyance in Chris's voice. "Nothing," she said quietly.  
  
"Chris's hazel eyes softened and he sat beside Daegan. "Sorry Daegan," he apologized sincerely. "I'm getting ahead of myself." Daegan didn't say anything. "What were you going to say?" he asked.  
  
"I was going to say that if our lives have been a lie with the Brotherhood, why do you expect me to believe that the X-men killed our parents?"  
  
"Good point. But we shouldn't take their offer on staying with them. IT would put them in danger as well."  
  
"We could stay here but we're still 'with them'," she suggested.  
  
"If they understand what you mean. It's a good idea though," Chris said.  
  
Daegan looked around the small room, feeling tired all of a sudden. "I'm gonna go to bed," she muttered after yawning.  
  
"We'll sleep on it, then figure everything out when they come back tomorrow." Chris helped Daegan bandage up her shoulder. "Good night," he said as he turned out the light.  
  
- - -  
  
Daegan twisted and turned in her sleep, vivid nightmares popping in her mind. "No... Daddy..." she said in her sleep as the nightmare continued.  
  
Chris woke up from his sleep and walked over to the couch Daegan was sleeping on. "Daegan, wake up," he said as he gently nudged her.  
  
Daegan opened her eyes and she sat up suddenly, breathing hard. Chris looked into her dark blue eyes and saw fear. "It's okay," he said softly. "It was only a nightmare."  
  
"It felt so real," Daegan whispered.  
  
Chris sat next to her on the couch and hugged her. "Nightmares do feel real, but it didn't happen," he said reassuringly. "I'll protect you."  
  
Daegan looked up at Chris and smiled thankfully. "Thanks for waking me up," she said quietly.  
  
"Why don't you go outside and get some fresh air," he suggested.  
  
She nodded and stood up. She slowly made her way to the door and when she opened it, the cool midnight air relaxed her almost instantly. "Feeling better?" someone asked coldly.  
  
Daegan recognized the voice and gasped. "CHRIS!" she yelled as John grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the door.  
  
"Quiet," John hissed as he quickly cupped his hand over her mouth. "We don't need Chris in the way."  
  
"What's going on," they heard Chris demand as he ran out the door. "Daegan?"  
  
John pushed Daegan down the alley into some garbage bags. He took out his lighter and as soon as he had it lit, the alley ignited into flames. There was a line of fire separating Chris from John and Daegan. "Leave Daegan alone Pyro!" Chris yelled angrily.  
  
"Come and get her, Eruption," John said as he walked away.  
  
"CHRIS! HELP!" he heard Daegan yell.  
  
Chris stared at the flames, trying to figure out how to get to Daegan. He heard Daegan start to cough violently. "Daegan! Stay down from the smoke!"  
  
"I'm trapped!"  
  
Chris looked over some low flames to see that Daegan was trapped by the flames. "Hang on!"  
  
Out of no where it began to rain. Chris looked around to see someone with white hair and white glowing eyes. He felt a sudden surge of defence and his hands began to glow an orange colour. "Eruption, we aren't going to hurt you," a guy said as he approached Chris. "We're the X-men."  
  
Chris ignored the guy and watched as the flames slowly disappeared. "Daegan?!" he yelled.  
  
A man walked through the smoke, his arms carrying a limp body. "She's pretty beaten up," he muttered as he came into the light.  
  
"Oh my God," Chris muttered as he ran up to the man. "Daegan..."  
  
"Will you come with us to the institute so she can get the needed help?" the man who Chris ignored before asked.  
  
"Shouldn't we take her to a hospital?" he asked worriedly, looking at the man.  
  
"Mutants aren't really accepted by the world yet, kid," the man holding Daegan explained.  
  
"Chris..."  
  
Chris looked down at Daegan to see her eyes slightly open. "We have to trust them..." she uttered weakly.  
  
"But Daegan..."  
  
"Trust me..." she said quietly. "They'll help..."  
  
Chris looked at the X-men as Daegan blacked out again and he sighed heavily. "Fine," he muttered. "We'll come with you."  
  
- - -  
  
Daegan woke up again to find herself in a bed. She looked around to see doctor tools and some chairs. "Ow..." she muttered as she tried sitting up.  
  
"Your shoulder is still in critical condition so you shouldn't try to sit up," someone said as they came into the room.  
  
Daegan looked to the door to see Charles Xavier come in. "Where's Chris?" Was the first thing she asked.  
  
Charles smiled slightly. "Chris has been by your side since the fire in the alley," he began. "We finally got him to take our offer for him to sleep in his own room."  
  
Daegan sat up again, holding her shoulder. "Would you like to look around the grounds?" he asked.  
  
She nodded slightly and stood up from the bed, her muscles aching as they stretched. Charles showed her around the institute and Daegan saw Chris in the kitchen with a couple of the students. "Daegan!" he said, his shoulders relaxing in relief as he walked over to her and Charles.  
  
"Hey Chris!" Daegan replied as he hugged her. "Ow... watch the shoulder..." she muttered to him.  
  
"Looks like I'm not the only one who came," someone stated from the front lobby.  
  
Daegan looked over her shoulder and her face turned pale. There, standing at the door, was John. 


End file.
